Back into the Blogosphere

I am Back. And it has been a month and four days since I last posted on here. Bad girl. Very bad girl. WHERE has my discipline gone? Not that I was a terribly rabid poster anyway, but if one has a blog, one has to maintain the said blog. Cardinal rule of blogging. A rule I obviously broke. But what can I say? Life and school intruded. And, according to my brother's engineering magazine, too much time on the Internet can really have an effect on your reading habits and the way you process information. Horrified by such news, I am now trying earnestly to cut back on my Internet time.

But I still intend to post on this blog. And the posts are probably going to be as erratic and miscellaneous as they already were. I want to glorify God through this blog, and document my growing relationship with Him. He is my everything.

Anyway, considering that The Vogage of the Dawn Treader is almost upon us (yippeee!), I'm thinking of doing a lot of Narnia-skewed posts before the premiere. Oh who am I kidding, even if I had no excuse I would probably choke this bitsy blog with Narnia-related things anyway.

So, without further adieu...

Keep shining for Jesus!

Artist: Ron DiCianni

Tess of the D'urbervilles 2008 Episode 1 Recap: Review and Professional Rants

I just watched Episodes 1 and 2 of the 2008 version of Tess of the D'urbervilles and have taken it upon myself to write a recap. Why have I chosen to do such a foolish thing? Because, mes amies, I need space to vent and spew out my spiraling emotions. And as seeing psychiatrist would send my bank account into a fit of apoplexy ( not to mention the poor psychiatrist), I decided to do a little DIY therapy: writing style.

First of all I would hereby like to state that contrary to my usual habits, I watched the series before reading the book. And now that that confessional is done, let's turn back to business.

The titular heroine Tess Durbeyfield ( an enchantingly lovely Gemma Aterton) is embarrassed by her father Mr. Durbeyfield, who is elated to discover that he is the descendant of a very old and illustrious family that went by the posh name of "D'uberville. I must say I really feel for Tess here. She can't help loving her father and sinking even further into embarrassment under the weight of that love. Her mother ( played to perfection by Ruth Jones) is an opportunist of the highest level, even more thrilled than her husband at this piece of news, and presenting a spoon with the family crest on it as evidence.

That spoon looks more like a ladle to me. But anyways...

Hmm, must check my own family spoons. Nah, on second thoughts, I remember they were bought at some nondescript supermarket twenty years ago.

Moving on... one night Tess gets into an accident as she is carting the family's beehives to the market. Unfortunately her family's horse is fatally injured, and is shot to put it out of its misery. Poor White Beauty. The loss of the animal deals a blow to a family that is already financially constrained, and Tess's mother persuades Tess to trot off to the D'urberville chateau to beg ask for employment. Unfortunately the first person Tess comes across is the smarmy Alec D'urberville who has "shifty" written all over him. Unfortunately Tess is only seventeen and very unworldly, and while she is uncomfortable with Alec's barely-disguised leers, she remains civil towards him. Alec, meanwhile, who is clearly bored and aching for something dubious to do, is taken with Tess. Not only is she jaw-droppingly beautiful, but there is an odd grace about her that belies her origins, and in spite of her natural deference to him, she shows him that she possesses spirit and a mind of her own.

Alec tries to seduce Tess with strawberries... FAIL

Alec proposes hiring Tess as the new poultry manager as their last girl disappeared mysteriously, and he has no problem persuading his old, invalid mother, Mrs. D'urberville to do so. Mrs. D'urberville is blind and has a love for birds that is tantamount to obsession. Having no love left over for her son ( rightly, I say) she likes to push his buttons by reminding him that he really isn't a D'urberville and that his father, whow as called Stoke, took on the D'urberville name because he thought it would raise him in polite society. Shocker! So Alec isn't a D'urberville after all??

Her expression is priceless... priceless!

A library?? Drool alert! Drool alert!

Alec attempts to seduce Tess, first with strawberries (unsuccessful), then with books (almost successful). Tess secretly desires to be a schoolteacher, and looks upon education very seriously. She is better-educated than her parents, but not as well as a fine young lady would be. This throws her into an interesting position whereby she's obviously more qualified and more literate than those of her class, but doesn't possess the education of those above her. Such a position, made confusing by education, reminds me of Pamela in Samuel Richardson's eponymous novel. Like Tess, Pamela was a servant preyed upon by her master, and like Tess she'd had some education, as her former mistress had taught her to read and write.

Tess might be innocent, but she's not stupid. Alec's attempts merely increase her distrust of him, and unable to secure her willing consent to be seduced, he rapes her.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

I hate this man so much for destroying Tess, that I can't think straight. Must go dunk my head in a bucket of ice-water.

Tess leaves and Alec has the nerve to run after her and ask her to be his mistress. WHAT is wrong with you?? You've destroyed her life and now you want to make it worse? Creep. Tess informs him that she can never love him. She doesn't even hate him for what he's done to her. He's nothing but dust and ashes to her now. You tell 'im sista!

Alec's too lazy to push her further ( I think he's done quite enough of that already), and a broken-hearted Tess returns home. She tries to keep a brave face towards her siblings, but breaks down and confesses the truth to her parents. She asks her mother why she never warned her against such things. Yeah, Mrs. Durbeyfield. You were so greedy for money you destroyed your daughter's life. When Mrs. D tries to blame Tess, Tess rises up and cries out that she never read all the novels that explained such behaviour, that she was only seventeen, an innocent child. It's achingly sad to hear Tess herself acknowledging that her innocence has been destroyed. As the weeks go by, Tess retreats more and more into the shadows of her dingy house, unable to sit for more than two minutes without crying, the freedom and sweet naivete that came with her innocence forever destroyed.

Comments


I'd mentioned before that Tess of the D'urbervilles reminded me strongly of Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela. Written in the eighteenth century, Pamela chronicles the story of a beautiful servant girl harassed by her master. When seduction fails to affect Pamela's virtuous heart, her master tries to rape her and eventually kidnaps her in order to keep her under his power. Like Tess, Pamela is somewhat educated, and the fact that seems not to belong to any particular stratum of society is a theme echoed by Tess. These girls are not merely servants, but characters, with thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Pamela fears for her virtue, Tess does not, but loses something even more precious: her innocence.

Tess's innocence must not be confused with empty-headed naivete. She might not have been fully awakened to Alec's nefarious plans, but the fact that she distrusts him is evident even to him. Alec's callous disregard for everything except his carnal appetite ends up ruining the life of a girl whose life will obviously never be the same again. Had Tess been a Viscount's daughter, things might have turned out differently for her, but her birth condemns her to the fringes of society where no one will even think of advocating for her.And why should anyone advocate for her? Has what Alec has done a terrible crime?

Uh, YES. Not only is rape a terrible and disgusting act, but in Tess, it destroys her sweet innocence, robbing her of something she can never get back. Not only does this loss permanently alter her character, but it also thrusts her into a realisation of a dangerous, unforgiving world. Perhaps she should have had this realisation a long time ago, for with it she would have never allowed herself to fall into Alec's clutches. But such speculation is nothing finer than a waste of time, and I will close this recap with a reminder of that verse in the Bible which tells us to be "as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." I used to think that that was an odd oxymoron, but after Tess, I can see how this advice is useful.

Performances
Gemma Arterton- I loved her portrayal of Tess. It hit all the right notes without making me feel the tiniest bit of annoyance towards her. I remember reading Pamela, and wanting to throw a shoe at the heroine for being so idiotic and simpering. I like Tess's spunkiness and intelligence. Hooray for intelligent heroines!

Hans Matheson- His Alec D'urberville is so convincing, I have to keep reminding myself that he is an actor and is only playing a role . He is at once infuriating, hateful, mocking and pitiable. For all he's done, I cannot bring myself to hate him. Like Tess I can only scorn and pity him.

Ruth Jones- Her Mrs. D'urberville is an interesting character, for she will literally sell her own daughter in order to keep the family's heads afloat. Her barely-concealed obsession with financial security and her pathetic pride in the D'urberville name bar her from ever being a good mother to Tess. I largely blame Mrs. D'urbeville for what happened to Tess. A good mother would have been very concerned over where her daughter was going off to work, especially if she was alone and defenseless. Was Mrs. D'urberville a bad mother, or was she a good one twisted by her circumstances?

That's it for my first recap! I'm looking to finish recapping all four episodes. It's going to be uphill work, especially with a somber drama like Tess, but I'm hoping there'll be little moments of levity to lighten the burden.

I know I haven't been around much, but I'm not too worried about that because there are about a hundred and thirty-four other blogs better looking and better written than mine, and I'm sure my dear followers and readers are happily occupied reading those. But my dad told me about the 10 aid workers recently killed in Afghanistan, and I felt I had to share the information. And my thoughts on it. Of course.

As I was reading about the ten aid workers and their commitment to a tough, financially unrewarding, dangerous job in order to help those in need, I was deeply moved. These people practised what Jesus preached. Their love and service to the Afghan people is a shining testament and example to me. I hope that God will use me, weak and fallible as I am, to show His love and to demonstrate His power and majesty in the same manner one day. I also pray that He prepares me for such a task, and that He will equip me daily to be ready fpr the trials and hardships that will come my way.

I'm glad that all over the world there are Christians demonstrating Christ's perfect, blessed, amazing love in a thousand different ways. It inspires me to keep on even when there are days when I fail, days when I need to bring myself to my knees to ask God for forgiveness for my wilful stubborness. I hope this this will inspire you too.

Here's the link with additional information: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/09/afghanistan.victims.list/index.html?iref=allsearch


For my next post, I'm working on a recap of the period drama series I'm currently watching. Stay tuned for some not-so-insightful musings! ;)

Yours, in Christ's love,

Marie

The Historian: A book about... vampires??

Titles are odd things. When my colleague told me about a book called " The Historian", I (unsurprisingly) assumed it was about a historian. You know, old man with snow-white beard, piercing dark eyes and a stylised vocabulary. So when my colleague proceeded to crush these assumptions with the information that the book was about Dracula, I was slightly intrigued. A week later, she dumped the near 600 page tome onto my desk and I proceeded to sink my teeth into it. HAHA, lame joke right there. Oh yez, I couldn't resist. Sorry.

So I'm living in Canada right now and I understand that there's this craze about vampires. Personally speaking, I was never that much into vampires anyway. In the countries that I grew up, there were a myriad of other superstitions and ghostly creatures, and while I knew what vampires were, I was never fascinated by them. Maybe it's because I lump all blood suckers together, and after being covered with mosquito bites in every imaginable place, and after witnessing leeches do their thing, I couldn't bring myself to find any appeal in the idea of a blood-sucking human (?) being.

With the advent of Twilight however, I am forced to gnash my own teeth at the thought that I am confronted by vampires in every bookshop I go. Yes, I've read Twilight. Okay, okay, so I read one chapter. A little bemused by the fuss, I thought I'd give Twilight a try, reasoning that if so many people liked it, it had to be good, right? Riiiiiiight.

I mean, there are other things to write about in the world you know. I've pretty much stopped going into bookshops nowadays. Everything is so generic and vampire-based, and I can't wait until this madness is over and people get hooked onto nut-cracking newts or whatever other spine-chilling mythical creature there is out there in this crazy world.

Anyway. Where was I? Ah, The Historian.

The book is structured in such a way that there are actually two ( or at times, three) stories occurring with each alternating chapter. The narrator is a young girl whose name we are never told ( like the Girl in Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca), a lonely, inquisitive little thing, who when exploring her absent father's library chances upon a strange old book with nothing on its pages except an eerie woodcut of a dragon and the word " Drakulya."
Little Miss then proceeds to read a couple of letters which are mysteriously addressed to " my dear and unfortunate successor."
Most intrigued, she confronts her father with her finding, and instead of getting angry as most normal parents would upon hearing that their perspicacious offspring have been reading their private correspondence, he instead begins to tell her a story. It all started when he was a university student doing research in the library ( the library again!). Suddenly he found the book with the dragon woodcut at his elbow. Thinking someone had left it behind, he returned it to the librarian. The very next day, the book  is back at his customary cubicle. Intrigued, he shows the book to his advisor, Professor Bartolomeo Rossi, who tells him that years ago, he received the exact book... and he suspects it all ties in to Dracula.

Who is Dracula? In The Historian, the premise is that the vampire Dracula is an actual being, based on the 15th century prince of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes. Such a personage did exist, and I love how Kostova takes this fact and works it in with with whole vampire myth. The girl's father, Paul, then begins telling his story, and the story of her mother. I know this sounds terribly simple, but it's not; half the story is narrated by Paul, some of it is narrated by Paul through letter format, some is narrated by Rossi through letters to Paul (!), and there is even some narration by the girl's mother.

While this is no blood 'n' guts horror novel (thank God for that), I did come perilously close to screaming a couple of times because it gets rather creepy, especially if you are reading at night. I was smart and did the bulk of it during the sunny daytime ;)

This is what I'd dub an " intellectual" novel, and apparently Kostova herself was going for a serious, almost Victorian tone. As a lover of history, I enjoyed the mysteries and clues revealed in maps and old books and parchments galore. I also enjoyed Kostova's marvelous descriptions of exotic countries like Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria. It's obvious that she's been to those places before, but each of her words felt like the artful strokes of a brush on a beautiful painting. I felt like getting out a map and planning out a trip to Eastern Europe ASAP.

The only downside was that I didn't bond with any of the characters at all. I felt that they were all rather far away from me ( with the slight exception of Paul) and some of the girl's reactions seemed a little too cool and distant considering the tense situations she was in. Another irritant is that the book is so long, the end feels rather rushed, as if Kostova had only just woken up to the fact that she needed to write " The End" somewhere. A rushed ending is definitely not a satisfactory ending folks.

However, I really enjoyed this book. While my heart might not have been too caught up in it; my brain was certainly engaged, and for this I thank Kostova for realizing that there are readers who do want to exercise their brains. And apart from one ambiguous scene which I'm still puzzling over, and people sometimes taking the Lord's name  ( grr) in tense situations, this was a pretty good ride. Which is nice for me. I have made a vow not to read books with sex scenes or negative messages, and that's pretty much shut the door on modern fiction for me. So it's nice to have books like these where I can read without getting too disgusted.

So that's it for this review! What should I read next?

 

DIY Mini-Tutorial: A Rose Ring

As I'd mentioned in my previous post, I'm not going shopping for a long time. I hope that my bank account will finally get a rest and actually put some meat on those very slender bones.

Instead of buying things, I decided to make 'em! I love, love, love DIY. I've been DIYing since I was a tot, trying to make jewelry out of seed pods and broken necklaces, and stapling loose pages together to form "books." So yeah, I think I have some experience in the field of DIY. Who hasn't? ;)

The problem with crafts though, is that sometimes you have to go out and buy the materials. And considering my self-imposed ban on shopping, I was having a bit of trouble figuring out how to make something with the materials I had on hand. It was while I was pawing through my sewing box that Inspiration walloped me on the head with a large baseball bat. I saw stars. And my eyes shone in their cheery light.

Yes, that tutorial is coming. To end what was going to be a very poetic description had not its trembling author feared public displeasure, I made myself a pretty piece of jewelry using these materials :

1. A ribbon rose.You can get these at sewing shops or craft stores like Michaels. I lucked out because I found them at the sale bin, and bought 3 packets for $1. They are very cute, and I bought them with the vague belief that they would come in useful someday. And so they have.

2. A ring or a steel wire that you can bend. I used a circular metallic ring that used to be part of a bracelet. That bracelet was obviously sacrificed for the greater good of mankind. I've used it in nearly all my jewelry projects, and blessed the friend who gifted it to me. Of course she has no idea that the bracelet is -er- deconstructed, but I suspect she'll love me anyway.

3. Thread, preferably matching the green of the rose leaves.

And you're ready to go!

Instructions:

1. Take the rose and position it on the centre of the ring. Hold it in its position, and sew the rose to the ring. Sew it as tightly as you can. Another alternative is to glue it on, but I'm not a very big fan of this method, because the rose won't be as tightly bound as when sewn, and might fall off at a crucial moment.

 As you can see, I didn't have the exact same shade of thread that matched the leaves, so I just used the closest match I could find. And even if the sewing is messy ( which mine undoubtedly is), no one will notice when you're actually wearing the ring.

A few more close-ups:

 
Yes, that's actually my hand! My hand's on the Internet! Say hello, hand!

So that's pretty much it. All in all, it took me five minutes maximum to make. I actually did it at work, while waiting for some papers to be scanned. And yes, I told my supervisor what I was doing. She seemed a bit surprised; I guess receptionists should be forever filing their nails instead of sewing.

You don't necessarily have to use a white rose. You can use any colour you like. I think this ring is cute and feminine, and I enjoy wearing it. I've also spied a few women looking at it on the subway ;)

This has been my first tutorial ever! Please comment if you like it, or if you have any other suggestions on how I can improve on it.

Wisdom- That Jewel Most Precious

It comes as no surprise to me that Wisdom in the Bible takes the form of a woman.  And so does Folly, before I start a gender war on my peaceful little blog. But God’s got me thinking a lot about Wisdom lately, and I am taking to a blog post to try and articulate my confused thoughts.

It all started with this verse in the Bible:

“ And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."

(1 Chronicles 28 :9)

I was immediately struck by this verse. What is my motive in serving God? My motive is simple: I want to know God intimately and obey all his commands. I want to walk hand-in-hand with him in my journey through the sands of Life.

And to walk through this journey in a manner that pleases God, I need Wisdom. The realization came to me as I reflected on that famous prayer of Solomon’s, where he asks God for wisdom, and God grants it.  It was also no surprise that my pastors at church began a sermon series on Proverbs, and that the first proverbs are exhortations to seek Wisdom. Consider these compelling verses from the man said to be the wisest on earth:

Proverbs 2

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

 ¹ My son, if you accept my words
       and store up my commands within you,

 ² turning your ear to wisdom
       and applying your heart to understanding,

 ³ and if you call out for insight
       and cry aloud for understanding,

 ⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
       and search for it as for hidden treasure,

 ⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
       and find the knowledge of God.

 ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom,
       and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

And later on in the chapter Solomon goes on to add, “ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her."

With all due respect to myself, I never thought that wisdom was for me. After all I’m the most scatterbrained, most irresponsible, most impulsive person I know. Sometimes I feel that I have such a long way to go, and I just want to lie down and give up.

These past few weeks, however, I’ve been feeling God steering me gently towards the topic of wisdom. I can hear Him say, “ Look at it again. Why do you think you can never be wise? You can never be a true Christian without wisdom.”

I was amazed to hear this. I hadn't given wisdom much thought before. I had merely assumed it was for the elderly and the experienced; two categories I do not fall into, and therefore I didn’t think I could be described as wise. But why can’t I be? Wisdom is a desirable thing, as evinced by the Proverbs.

I am not talking about worldly wisdom by the way. Wordly wisdom seems to me another word for knowledge, how many facts one can cram into his or her brain until said brain is ready to explode. What I am talking about is wisdom from God, wisdom to live in this world while remaining a shining light for him. As Proverbs 2:6 says, God is the giver of wisdom. And without His wisdom, I am convinced I can never be a truly fruitful follower of Christ. Not to mention a rather ineffective missionary. Every Christian needs wisdom in their walk with God. This metaphor of a journey is again played out in Proverbs 4: 11

“ I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.”

So how do I go about acquiring wisdom? As I pondered this, windows began opening in certain dark areas of my mind, windows that I’d previously been too afraid or too lazy to open. I realized that I was in danger of becoming too contented with myself. There were still areas I needed to clean and dust up, bits of my life that were tarnishing and falling into disarray. I began evaluating these areas and deciding what God would want me to do about them.  Here are some of the earth-shattering decisions I made:

1.      I resolved to help about in the house more. Both my mother and I work full-time in the summer, but I noticed my mother was doing more housework than I was. My job is not as stressful as hers, and plus I’m younger and therefore supposed to have boundless energy.
2.     Not to spend as much time on the Internet as possible. It’s all too easy to come back home exhausted from work and vegetate immediately before the ‘Net. I resolved to go back to good old fashioned reading and sneak in some time to do crafts.
3.      I planned to spend as much time with God as possible. As Dallas Willard says in his book “ Hearing God,” the point of communication with God is that we end up in communion with Him. I want to be as deeply in communion with God as I can possibly be. Instead of wasting my time on useless dreams, I try to talk with God silently in my head as much as possible, praying for people I come across, and praying for all my friends and family. It’s not easy, especially because we tend to be so self-centered, but practice makes perfect so they say, and I’m hopeful that I will improve after a while.
4.       Curb my shopaholic tendencies! I’d previously read “The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,” and had laughed my head off, inwardly thanking my stars that I wasn’t a materialistic spendthrift like the heroine. Unfortunately, when I got my first job I realized how hard it is not to spend. Currently I’m trying not to buy anything until school starts. I need to learn how to save!

Perhaps it’s not so surprising how a meditation on wisdom led me to make these lifestyle changes. After all, surely it’s wiser to act than to remain meditating, right? I felt that God wanted me to make these changes, and by way of the topic of Wisdom, had shown me the bright red glaring errors I’d been subconsciously (and lazily) making.

Honestly, the more I think about wisdom, the more I realize that it is as essential to the Christian life as water is to a tree. Without the nourishment of wisdom we cannot grow into strong and fruitful plants. It is wisdom that helps us penetrate to the deepest depths and helps us appreciate with purity and clarity the soul-stirring love and the breath-taking majesty of God. Without wisdom we would not even be scratching the surface; our understanding and appreciation of God’s love would be shallow and farcical, nothing better than a faint apprehension.

That is why I want wisdom, and the maturity that comes with wisdom, to walk hand-in-hand with me as I journey through the adventurous paths of a Christian life.

Miss Austen Regrets- a Meandering and Chatty Review

Once, when I was still innocent, I watched a movie titled Becoming Jane. Ten minutes later, I was finished. I couldn’t take the pain anymore. And I know this sounds a tad dramatic ( I am, after all, raised on a diet of Bollywood), but these are my true feelings. I couldn’t bear Anne Hathaway’s pout-smirk, the idiotic dialogues, and the wildly improbable plot. Well I did only watch ten minutes, but I heartily disliked it. I still dislike it. They slaughtered Jane Austen.  ( Must curb drama!). I mean, they misunderstood Jane Austen.  Apart from grudgingly acknowledging the soundtrack, I decided I never wanted to think of Becoming Jane again, lest I do bodily damage to the t.v screen.

This week I finally got to finish another biopic on Jane Austen, the BBC production depressingly called Miss Austen Regrets. Why did I open myself to the possibility of another heartburn? Well, I’d done my homework properly this time, and actually watched the trailer. I was initially struck by two things: Olivia Williams, and the fact that they appeared to have used some of Jane’s actual lines.

I love Miss Austen Regrets. Without reservation and without regret ( lame pun totally intentional). Why do I love this movie so? Let me count the ways:

1.   As I’d mentioned earlier, Olivia Williams. I consider OW a fine actress, who seems tres overrated and who possesses a wonderfully mobile face, not to mention very expressive eyes. Unlike those who shall not be mentioned, she really seemed to get the character of Austen. I loved how she portrayed her, with an ironic air and witty pronouncements on men that barely masked the fragile vulnerability underneath. 

2.       I’m glad that unlike BJ, they didn’t entirely focus on Jane’s love life. Though in Miss Austen Regrets, the focus seems to be Jane’s apparent lack of a love life. But intertwined with the theme of romance inexperienced were Jane’s concerns with writing, and with the need for money to support her sister and her mother. As she remarks bitterly to Rev. Bridges, one of her admirers, “ I am to be my own husband it seems.” Taking such responsibility  is not easy, even in our enlightened twenty-first century. I read in the papers last week that women in Canada were still making less money at their jobs than their male counterparts. And if women are having difficulties now in 2010, imagine those difficulties magnified in 1810, where women did not have much (if any) choice in the way of careers.

  2.  Hugh Bonneville! I’m so pleased he’s in this. I’ve a soft spot for him, mainly because he’s such a reliable actor. He always delivers. In all the roles I’ve seen him in so far, he’s managed to execute them so capably that I never have trouble distinguishing them apart.  His rendition of Rev. Bridges was like Williams’ portrayal of Austen: emotionally repressed yet vulnerable.


3. A grand part of Jane’s dialogue was taken from the letters which she wrote, making it all more “real.” I felt happy knowing that this was what Jane really thought, and not some lines a screenwriter conjured out of thick air.

4.   The costumes were lovely, and I loved the colours of Jane’s dresses, especially the dark red-brown dress she wore most of the time and another dress of royal blue. Such deep, warm colours suit Olivia’s complexion very well, and I hankered after those dresses myself, in spite of my proclaimed affection for jeans.

5.  I was impressed with Imogen Poots’ portrayal of Fanny. I found Fanny extremely annoying; naïve, simplistic and self-absorbed, and I applaud Imogen for carrying off such characteristics so well. Fanny is after all, a teenager, and her youth and emotional outbursts were very well contrasted with Jane’s maturity and finely masked feelings.

I suppose I should reason out why I dislike BJ so much and why I entirely prefer Miss Austen Regrets. First of all, biopics are hard. Considering the fact that they’re about real people, I can understand the dilemma that confronts directors, screenwriters and actors: How does one make the film as real and relatable as possible? How can the film reel in viewers’ attention?

The problem with Becoming Jane, is that I feel the directors, screenwriters,etc., ignored the first question and jumped onto the second question.  And I feel insulted, because they obviously didn’t consider the real details of Jane’s life interesting enough to stick to them. Instead they created a fiction with the scanty information they had, an enjoyable fiction I suppose, but a fiction nonetheless.

Miss Austen Regrets however, seems to have regarded both questions with intelligence. Not only is it much more historically accurate than Becoming Jane, Jane Austen’s character is explored with respect and sensitivity. While it might not be 100% true ( I think that’s too much to ask of anything, really), the format of sticking with what was known along with throwing in some deviations worked stylistically and flowed smoothly.

Perhaps the film’s greatest advantage is that the character Jane actually uses some of the lines that the real Jane wrote.  I stress this because using these lines from Jane Austen’s letters made Olivia Williams’ portrayal much more real to me. I could imagine the real Jane saying them, and this was no great feat because she had said them.  Or wrote them, if you want to be painfully accurate.  In Becoming Jane on the other hand, I could scarcely imagine the real Jane even thinking up such lines, much less saying them. Please note that I did only watch ten minutes, so I’m talking about the first ten minutes of the film. I don’t care to put myself through more torture to hear the rest of Jane’s lines in BJ. I’d rather drink cough syrup.

Perhaps none of the films got Jane Austen. And I don’t think any film, any biographer can present the whole, unvarnished truth. Books, films, letters, can all reveal several facets of a person’s character, but can never be, and will never be exhaustive troves of information on that person. And while I cannot know Jane Austen because she is dead; I can admire her spirit and her independence, and thank her for all the hours of simple enjoyment I have found in her books.

Marie

P.S: I claim Henry Tilney as MINE! Ah, the power of having a blog! I can say anything, anything!